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Raleigh Priester withered to half his body weight during his 155 days in a Broward sheriff's jail.
Raleigh Priester, 52, withered to half his body weight and died during his 155 days in a Broward jail
The family of a mentally ill man, who they say starved to death at a Broward
County jail, has settled a negligence lawsuit against the jail's inmate health-
care provider. Terms of the settlement were confidential, court records show.
During 155 days in jail, Raleigh Priester, 52, withered to half his body weight.
The U.S. Army veteran with a two-decade history of schizophrenia died July
10, 2012, at a jail in Pompano Beach. He was found unconcious in a pool of
vomit on his cell floor. He weighed 120 pounds.
Five months earlier, the 6-foot-2-inch father of two had tipped the scales at
240 pounds when he was booked into jail for allegedly throwing a rock and
hitting a Fort Lauderdale parking-garage attendant in the back.
Alleging neglect, attorney Greg Lauer filed the lawsuit last summer on behalf
of Priester's estate, sister, daughter, son and brother in federal court in Fort
Lauderdale.
Priester "slowly died from starvation" while those in charge of caring for him
deliberately ignored his deteriorating mental health and physical ailments.
They also failed to provide him with medication, or adequate nutrition, the
lawsuit said.
Named along with the Sheriff's Office in the suit was Armor Correctional
Health Services, which provides health care to the county's jail inmates, and
two of its doctors.
"That settlement was 100% between Priester's estate and Armor," Keyla
Concepcion, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office, said Tuesday. "BSO did
not pay anything or admit any liability whatsoever."
Archive: Mentally ill inmate dies at half his body weight in Broward jail, family
sues
"The company has a proven record of delivering quality health care to more
than 40,000 patient-inmates in eight states," Suarez said in an emailed
statement.
Armor has overseen health care for Broward inmates since 2004.
Three months into his jail confinement, Priester was found unresponsive on
his cell floor. He had dropped down to 139 pounds.
After a week in the hospital on a high-calorie diet, Priester gained 11.6 pounds,
putting him up to nearly 151 pounds, records show.